if you cant get in trouble with a 128 I give up on you. the price diff is just not worth it. I got the M-sport Package and its a killer car. unless you are hormonally challenged, this is all you need.

agree with you on everything but the price difference. The 128 is surely a great car, i loved my previous e46 330ci, and it was plenty quick and could get you in trouble quite easily.

Price difference isn't that big when you're jumping up to 400 hp (add 500-800 to purchase for a tune). That's money well spent in my book. However, i won't be keeping this car beyond warranty...that's for sure. If i were in for the long term i would have gotten the 128 myself. (3 years is my max in a car anyway)

I thought the price difference was considerable, around $8,000 more for the 135. I could be wrong though. I got the convertible so I paid the extra $8k for the top down option. I wanted a convertible a lot more than a really fast car in which I will get more speeding tickets than I will already get in the 128.

Really depends on what you plan to do with the car and your driving style, That said if you want to know that 90% of the cars on the road are slower than you get the 135i. If you aren't in a testosterone fueled fury every time you drive the 128i will be more than satisfying. Either car is a great choice and get ready to spend some cash on mods, yes they are more than worth it on this chassis

I thought the price difference was considerable, around $8,000 more for the 135. I could be wrong though. I got the convertible so I paid the extra $8k for the top down option. I wanted a convertible a lot more than a really fast car in which I will get more speeding tickets than I will already get in the 128.

ya i guess 8k is the difference. But you get more than the motor and brakes with the 135, xenons, sport suspension, better rubber, moonroof, etc. To me you'd need to add the sport package on the 135 and M sport, and moonroof on the 128, that difference now becomes 6k. I agree that is significant money on a 30-40k car. But going from 230 to 400 hp (add the requisite tune in my book) and that's a price i'm willing to pay.

Actually, since i hate wasting/losing money...i did in my mind the smart thing when i bought. I bought a 11 mo old 135 with 6k miles, sport, premium, cold weather, hi fi stereo for well less than a zero option 128 right now with a tune, intercooler, suspension upgrade and tires i'd just skim under that new base 128. (yes i had to drive the car 400 miles from NC to find the one i wanted)...but even my travel flight down and gas back was only 400 bucks.

I also understand i could have done the same with a 128 and spent even less but 30k was my budget. I just got sloppy seconds, 37 months and 44k miles of warranty...and all the options and mods i wanted.

Man, the title/point of this thread couldn't be any more clear: do any 128i OWNERS regret not getting the 135i. And yet, inexplicably, 135i owners pop in here to reaffirm their choice. Bizarre, really.

It would be like if I started a thread asking, "Do you like your green popsicle?" and every third post was, "I LOVE my red popsicle!"

Man, the title/point of this thread couldn't be any more clear: do any 128i OWNERS regret not getting the 135i. And yet, inexplicably, 135i owners pop in here to reaffirm their choice. Bizarre, really.

It would be like if I started a thread asking, "Do you like your green popsicle?" and every third post was, "I LOVE my red popsicle!"

Man, the title/point of this thread couldn't be any more clear: do any 128i OWNERS regret not getting the 135i. And yet, inexplicably, 135i owners pop in here to reaffirm their choice. Bizarre, really.

It would be like if I started a thread asking, "Do you like your green popsicle?" and every third post was, "I LOVE my red popsicle!"

Not sure why I chose popsicles, but you get the idea.

Darn, I'm really sorry.................

Just an observation, dude. Kind of funny that 135i owners come into the 128i section to tell us all they made the "right choice."

DCT feels like an auto, it just doesn't have the parasitic loss of the slush box. At least back with SMG you still had to work for it.

interesting opinion, i too have driven the SMG, step, and DCT (own one) and have a very different experience than you.

SMG - terrible imo, very jerky and unless you drove it very hard, was very rough around town. i owned a 6mt e46 m3 which i thouhgt was a vastly more fun car to own and drive. i will say i didnt have tons of experience in the SMG though

DCT - even in the 135i, its awesome. lightning fast upshifts and downshifts with zero hesitation in manual mode ever in my experience. much faster reacting than an auto "manual shift" mode car, even in the 335i with steptronic. in my opinion, they cannot even be reasonably compared, DCT is that much better.

I came from owning a lot of manual trans cars, and the DCT is an awesome comprimise. Do i miss the MT, at times, sure. But i would never want to DD one again after owning DCT. I would however, love to pick up a z4m or s2000 as a weekend / track car to get my MT fix.

Bottom line, when considering the 135i and 128i, the DCT would be a huge advantage for the 135i. I have driven a manual 135i with the 6mt, and that car was tons of fun also. But I prefer the DCT version.

I would think that the 6mt would make the 128i plenty of fun to drive around town. Id also believe that the 3.0l 6 cylinder is a much better fit for the lighter 128 as compared to the 328i.

interesting opinion, i too have driven the SMG, step, and DCT (own one) and have a very different experience than you.

SMG - terrible imo, very jerky and unless you drove it very hard, was very rough around town. i owned a 6mt e46 m3 which i thouhgt was a vastly more fun car to own and drive. i will say i didnt have tons of experience in the SMG though

DCT - even in the 135i, its awesome. lightning fast upshifts and downshifts with zero hesitation in manual mode ever in my experience. much faster reacting than an auto "manual shift" mode car, even in the 335i with steptronic. in my opinion, they cannot even be reasonably compared, DCT is that much better.

I came from owning a lot of manual trans cars, and the DCT is an awesome comprimise. Do i miss the MT, at times, sure. But i would never want to DD one again after owning DCT. I would however, love to pick up a z4m or s2000 as a weekend / track car to get my MT fix.

Bottom line, when considering the 135i and 128i, the DCT would be a huge advantage for the 135i. I have driven a manual 135i with the 6mt, and that car was tons of fun also. But I prefer the DCT version.

I would think that the 6mt would make the 128i plenty of fun to drive around town. Id also believe that the 3.0l 6 cylinder is a much better fit for the lighter 128 as compared to the 328i.

interesting opinion, i too have driven the SMG, step, and DCT (own one) and have a very different experience than you.

SMG - terrible imo, very jerky and unless you drove it very hard, was very rough around town. i owned a 6mt e46 m3 which i thouhgt was a vastly more fun car to own and drive. i will say i didnt have tons of experience in the SMG though

Actually, you had the same expierence if you read what he wrote. It is something you have to work for and get good at, and by your own admission you had no idea what you were doing.

Personally, nothing replaces 6MT for me. I don't care about shift speeds, there is always something faster, I care about connection. SMG has that more than the rest of the automated boxes as it takes some skill and thought, but it is still too removed for me.

probably said this before, but any 128i owners, especially those regretting it slightly vs the 135i, i strongly suggest you try to get it to a 130i level of performance, i really personally don't mind the difference between a 130i and 135i stock, though it's a bit different here 30k>50k price difference..... here, the price difference is the full slew of handling mods, and power mods (that are currently available) and you're still in the green >_<

I need to sit down with a dealer and go over lease numbers on a 2013 128i with just M-Sport & Cold Weather Pkg. I was initially thinking Steptronic, but after some reading, it seems the 6MT is the more rewarding driving experience, and that the 128i Steptronic isn't as nice as the one found in the 135i.

It looks like I'd have to order one the way I want, but this seems to be a common way to go anyway.

Coming from a 335i, I'm missing the extra power. The 128 is cool (especially a 6 speed). I purposely didn't drive a 135 cause I knew i would prefer it. I was in a position where I needed to save some $$ so I went with the 128.

Actually, you had the same expierence if you read what he wrote. It is something you have to work for and get good at, and by your own admission you had no idea what you were doing.

Personally, nothing replaces 6MT for me. I don't care about shift speeds, there is always something faster, I care about connection. SMG has that more than the rest of the automated boxes as it takes some skill and thought, but it is still too removed for me.

so transmission being jerky / rough = working for it?

ive never been in an smg that drove smoothly, that transmssion is gone for a reason.

DCT is definitely not for everyone, but to me, it still has enough of the feel of a manual for a DD, and is lightning fast and responsive to my driver inputs in manual mode everytime.

i drive the car in manual mode 90% of the time.

anyway, just an observation of one of the other potential benefits of a 135 over a 128.

both are great cars, and with a few suspension mods are a ton of fun to drive due to the light weight and good handling for the street